Jersey Finance plans to use momentum of Gulf visits to attract more business

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Jersey Finance is hoping that a recent increase in visits to the Gulf by both the regulator and senior government ministers will boost finance business attracted from the region.

In addition to the recent activity which included visits to the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and an Arab Ambassadors’ visit to the island, Jersey Finance is also a co-sponsor of both the Super Return Conference in Dubai, a three day event in October which attracts senior delegates from the region and a conference staged by Euromoney in Qatar later in the year.

Jersey Finance is also planning to appoint an additional permanent representative based in Dubai who will spearhead business development in other parts of the region including Saudi Arabia.

These moves will help maintain the momentum built up to date this year which has included:

• A visit to Qatar and Saudi Arabia for the Treasury and Resources Minister, Senator Philip Ozouf, which was organised and hosted by Jersey Finance. During his visit Senator Ozouf met with His Excellency Ali-Shareef Al-Emadi, Minister of Finance and His Excellency Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed Al-Thani, Minister of Economy & Commerce for the state of Qatar and Minister of Finance, His Excellency Dr Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz Al-Assaf in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

• A visit to the United Arab Emirates by a Jersey delegation led by Chief Minister, Senator Ian Gorst, which included Jersey Finance representatives. The Chief Minister visited Abu Dhabi, where Jersey Finance has its office, and Dubai and met a number of senior ministers, government officials and key business introducers.

• The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding which sets out a formal framework for the exchange of regulatory information between Jersey’s financial services regulator, the Jersey Financial Services Commission and the Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority.

• The sponsorship of a significant, large scale Euromoney conference in Riyadh in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which was attended by more than 1,700 delegates and where Senator Ozouf spoke on the strengths of Jersey as a financial jurisdiction.

• The two day visit to Jersey of a delegation of Arab ambassadors at the invitation of the government. The delegates from the Arab Ambassadors Council, which represents ambassadors of Arab states accredited in the UK, attended a joint States of Jersey/Jersey Finance breakfast reception as part of their wide ranging itinerary.

Richard Corrigan, deputy chief executive, Jersey Finance, says that Jersey Finance was grateful for the support of government and the regulator in continuing to build important ties in the region.

“Visits by government ministers and by the regulator are hugely important in highlighting Jersey’s desire to do more business across the Gulf, while Jersey’s hosting of a formal visit by a prestigious delegation of Arab Ambassadors is equally significant in cementing our relationship in the region,” says Corrigan. “The fact that we have hosted visits by government officials to the Gulf for 12 years is appreciated by the senior government figures we meet and is firm evidence of our commitment to the region and willingness to build on our existing relationships.

“It’s important to maintain the momentum which has seen Jersey attract increasing business from the region in recent times. For example, we have nearly GBP19 billion on deposit from the Gulf, approximately 14 per cent of Jersey’s overall bank deposit total, we have welcomed a bank from the United Arab Emirates which set up a branch in 2012 and a number of other Gulf based finance industry firms who are providing services using Jersey based service providers.”